Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
ReviewAvoiding brain hypoxia in severe traumatic brain injury in settings with limited resources - A pathophysiological guide.
Cerebral oxygenation represents the balance between oxygen delivery, consumption and utilization by the brain, and therefore reflects the adequacy of cerebral perfusion. Different factors can influence the amount of oxygen to the brain including arterial blood pressure, hemoglobin levels, systemic oxygenation, and transfer of oxygen from blood to the cerebral microcirculation. ⋯ Several tools have been proposed for the assessment of cerebral oxygenation, including non-invasive/invasive or indirect/direct methods, including Jugular Venous Oxygen Saturation (SjO2), Partial Brain Tissue Oxygen Tension (PtiO2), Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), Transcranial Doppler, electroencephalography and Computed Tomography. In this manuscript, we aim to review the pathophysiology of cerebral oxygenation, describe monitoring technics, and generate recommendations for avoiding brain hypoxia in settings with low availability of resources for direct brain oxygen monitoring.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
Assessing a standardized decision-making algorithm for blood culture collection in the intensive care unit.
Blood cultures are commonly ordered for patients with low risk of bacteremia. Indications for obtaining blood cultures are often broad and ill defined, and decision algorithms for appropriate blood cultures have not been comprehensively evaluated in critically-ill populations. ⋯ In a cohort of critically-ill patients, inappropriate blood cultures were common. The indications for blood cultures are often not evidence-based, and evidence-based algorithms to guide the collection of blood cultures may offer a way to decrease inappropriate culture orders.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
Diagnosing acute kidney injury ahead of time in critically ill septic patients using kinetic estimated glomerular filtration rate.
Accurate and actionable diagnosis of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) ahead of time is important to prevent or mitigate renal insufficiency. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of Kinetic estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (KeGFR) in timely predicting AKI in critically ill septic patients. ⋯ Predictive performance of KeGFR combined with UO criteria for diagnosing AKI is excellent. Compared to KDIGO, deterioration of renal function was identified earlier, most prominently for lower stages of AKI. This may shift the actionable window for preventing and mitigating renal insufficiency.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
ReviewNon-pharmacological interventions for self-management of fatigue in adults: An umbrella review of potential interventions to support patients recovering from critical illness.
Fatigue is a common symptom after critical illness. However, evidence-based interventions for fatigue after critical illness are lacking. We aimed to identify interventions to support self-management of fatigue caused by physical conditions and assess their effectiveness and suitability for adaptation for those with fatigue after critical illness. ⋯ Self-management can be effective at reducing fatigue symptoms and improving quality of life for physical conditions and has clear potential for supporting people with fatigue after critical illness, but more conclusive data on effectiveness and clearer definitions of self-management are required.